Automatic shuttle change mechanism for looms



Aug. 5, 1947. I v 2,425,103

AUTOMATIC SHUTTLE CHANGE MECHANISM FOR LOOMS Filed Sept. 6, 1944 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Aug. 5', 1947.

F. LLOVERA 7 2,425,103

AUTOMATIC SHUTTLE CHANGE MECHANISM FOR LOOMS Filed Sept. 6, 1944 3-Sheets-Sheet 2 FIELE- v PT 25 1; 24 2? "O fl/4lt ll {f/mm v y M;

Aug. 5, 1947. F. LLOVERA 2,425,.10 AUTOMATIC SHUTTLE CHANGE MECHANISM FOR LOOMS Fil ed Sept. 6, 1944 s Sheets-Sheet s Patented Aug. 5, 1947 AUTOMATIC SHUTTLE CHANGE MECHANISM FOR LOOMS Federico Llovera, Barcelona, Spain Application September 6, 1944, Serial No. 552,916 In Spain January 25, 1944 6 Claims.

There are already known certain types of looms that have a mechanism for producing the automatic change of the shuttle when the weft breaks or when there only remain some turnsof thread of weft on the bobbin. These mecha nisms, however, are very complicated and require generally, the stopping of the working of the loom, whilst the mechanism is acting to produce the change of the shuttle.

The present invention has for an object, a mechanism, by means of which it is possible to carry out the change of the shuttle without any necessity for stopping the loom, having the particularity that the change is carried out as soon as the empty shuttle arrives at the box and that the elements of the mechanism putting this in motion, carry out a complete cycle and return to their original position, solely in the time of two turns, that is the going and return of the shuttle.

The invention comprises a structure or chamber formed by two bodies, a top body or magazine which remains fixed to the slay and is arranged to contain a plurality of superposed shutties, and a lower body displaceable in an ascending and descending sense, that forms a properly called double shuttle box, that is it contains-two shuttles one over the other separated by a hori zontal partition.

The shuttle in service is lodged in the lower compartment of the shuttle box, and on exhausting the thread of the shuttle, when said shuttle arrives at the box the shuttle box descends, leaving the second shuttle at the height of the beam and entering in service on receiving the blow from the loom picker, whilst those contained in the box, is obtained by means of a mechanism driven by the loom itself, which is put into work by a stem driven by the weft exhaustion indicating means or by the feeler of the spool, such mechanism including a lever coupled to the shuttle box that produces in two cycles, the ascending and descendin displacement of this box.

The movement of the shuttle box may be obtained by Various arrangements but preferably by means of a gear formed by two toothed sectors and arranged in such a way that on the weft exhaustion indicating mean acting, the gear displaces itself sideways on an axle and engages with a pinion to which each one of the sectors causes to give a half turn, moving an eccentric that in its turn, moves in two cycles, the box of the shuttle.

In the enclosed drawing there is shown, only as an example, one form of execution of the invention.

Figure 1 is a side view of the framework of a loom with the arrangement for the shuttle change mechanism.

Figure 2 is a view of the mechanism from the back part of the loom.

Figure 3 shows in a larger scale the arrangement of the shuttle box.

Figure 4 shows the shuttle box in its displaced position and Figure 5 is a plan of the shuttle box with the arrangement for the expulsion of the shuttle.

Figure 6 is a partial perspective view of one form of device for initiating shuttle change.

In the illustrated construction, it! represents the side framework of the loom and II the beam of the slay which carries, fixed in the ordinary way, the straight edge I2 that forms the front wall of the shuttle box, whilst the part of the beam corresponding to the said box is cut and presents an opening. The box or compartment destined to receive the shuttle has a bottom It that remains at the level with the race, a back wall Hi and a top wall IE on which there rests the replacement shuttle. On top there has been arranged the magazine formed by the bottomless box or compartment l6, fixed to the slay to hold various shuttles superimposed and ready for use.

Over the bottom 13 there is lodged the shuttle 28 that is in service, whilst in the top compartment on wall l5 there is lodged the replacement shuttle 2| and onthis there rest other shuttles in a variable number, 22, 22, etc., arranged between the walls of the shuttle magazine iii, The back wall I 4 of the lower box carries a plate 24 mounted displaceably sideways on stems 25 and such plate 24 has a central opening through which 7 whose other end is articulated to the end of a lever 32 (Figures 1, 2) oscillating around the shaft 33 arranged in a convenient place of the framework of the machine. The stay 3| remains parallel to the oscillating sword of the slay and follows the oscillating movement thereof.

On a shaft of the loom, such as 35 there has been arranged a plate 36 that turns with the same and may slide axially. This plate is provided with two toothed sectors 31, 38 opposed or in any other suitable relation, and in addition, the hub of such plate 33 is provided with a flange 39 of eccentric profile and subject to the action of the spring 40 arranged between the hub of the said plate and the collar 4| fixed on the shaft 35.

The parallel auxiliary shaft 42 carries a pinion 43 situated in a plane parallel to the plate 35. This pinion is fixed to an eccentric 44 that acts on a connecting rod 45 connected to an intermediate point 46 of the lever 32.

On the other hand, the shuttle magazine is provided with a retaining means that acts only during the working of the mechanism. This means comprises the stems that extend through the back wall of the magazine It at the height of the lower shuttle of the magazine and carry a plate 5| arranged to be applied sideways on said shuttle and to hold such shuttle by pressure against the front wall. The springs 52 tend. to displace the stems outwardly. On the ends of the stems, there are applied some slides 53 of an inclined profile, articulated in the lugs 54 of the wall and on these slides there act the rollers 55 carried by the elastic arms 55 fixed in a supporting tie or in any other convenient point of the displaceable shuttle box.

In addition, there have been arranged also the slides or buffers 51 fixed in the framework to act upon the stems 25 of the expulsion element.

In front of the flange 39 of eccentric profile, which as has been said, forms part of the plate 36, there is found the pin 58 operated by the weft exhaustion indicating mechanism of the loom, or by the feeler of the spool if this arrangement is used or by any desired means, in such a way that when the thread of the weft breaks or the spool thread is exhausted, the pin '58 is displaced axially, until it comes in contact with the eccentric 39 and produces the axial displacement of the plate 36, so that, in one revolution of the said plate, there takes place the successive meshing of the sectors 3?, 38 with the toothed pinion 43 which gives a half turn on the passage of each one of the sectors. In Figure 6 one form of mechanism which may be used for actuating the pin is 58 as shown. In such mechanism A is the usual arrangement of elements responsive to the weft thread and B shows a simple arrangement of cooperating levers for actuating the pin 58. The turning of this pinion, in the first place, causes the lever 32 to descend which drags the stay 3| and this displaces downwardly the shuttle box until the second shuttle is at the level of the race. At the same time the arms 5% acting on the slides 53 hold the shuttle '22 of the lower part of the magazine to prevent this falling, and on the other hand the stems 25 striking on the fixed bufiers 5?, the ejecting element is displaced producing the fall of the empty shuttle from the lower compartment, which is suitably caught. After having the box go down, the shuttle of the top compartment receives immediately the blow from the loom picker and enters immediately into service. In the second half of the turn of the pinion 43 there is produced the upward movement of the lever 32 and the box returns to its initial position, whilst the shuttle is at the opposite side of the loom, so that on the shuttle arriving, it is received in the lower compartment and the working of the loom continues normally. At the same time the retaining means 50 is loosened and a fresh shuttle passes to the to compartment of the shuttle box.

As is seen, with the use of the mechanism described the change of the shuttle is effected immediately when the empty shuttle has arrived at the corresponding box, after the weft stopper has acted and all elements of the mechanism, in the course of two turns, that is the going and return of the shuttle, return again to their original position, without stopping for a moment the w0rking of the loom.

The foregoing description, refers only to one form of preferred execution of the invention, which is mentioned as an example, for as is understood the fundamental displacement of the shuttle box may be obtained also by any other arrangement in addition to the one mentioned, for example, by means of a set of eccentrics, without in any way deviating from the scope of the invention, and at the same time there may be introduced those variations in detail and construction suggested in practice, to adapt the mechanism to difierent types of looms known, without in any way modifying the essence of the invention.

I claim:

1. Automatic shuttle change mechanism for looms, comprising a displaceable double shuttle box provided with two adjoining compartments, one of said compartments serving to receive the shuttle normally in service in the loom, while the other compartment lodges a spare shuttle ready for use, means for displacing the said shuttle box so that the spare shuttle compartment may assume the position of the service shuttle compartment, means for actuating the said displacing means upon weft exhaustion whereupon the spare shuttle assumes the position of the service shuttle and receives the blow from the loom picker and enters into service, means for ejecting the exhausted shuttle from its compartment, and means to return the shuttle box to its initial position.

2. Automatic shuttle change mechanism for looms, according to claim 1, wherein the shuttle box compartment receiving the shuttle in service, is provided with an expulsion member formed by a displaceable plate inside the box, stems fixed to said plate extending outwardly for guiding said plate and fixed buffers disposed in the framework of the loom, whereby after the displacement of the shuttle box, said stems strike on said buffers, producing the displacement of the plate which ejects the empty shuttle from the 'box, said plate having a recess therein to allow the operation of an elastic swell for braking and stopping the shuttle On its arrival at the shuttle box.

3. Automatic shuttle change mechanism for looms, according to claim 1 wherein a shuttle magazine, formed by a bottomless box, containing a plurality of superposed shuttles which normally rest on the replacement shuttle of the spare shuttle compartment cooperates with said shuttle box.

4. Automatic shuttle change mechanism for looms, according to claim 1 wherein a shuttle magazine, formed by a bottomless box, containing a plurality of superposed shuttles which normally rest on the replacement shuttle of the spare shuttle compartment cooperates with said shuttle boX, said magazine being provided with a retaining member for holding the lower shuttle of the magazine, when the shuttle box is displaced, said retaining member consisting of a displaceable plate inside the magazine that can be applied laterally to the lowermost shuttle therein, said plate being connected with stems which extend outwardly, and means for displacing the said plate and producing the retention of the said lowermost shuttle against the front Wall of the magazine during displacement of the shuttle box. 5. Automatic shuttle change mechanism for looms, according to claim 1 wherein the shuttle box is coupled to a stay that extends parallel to the slay sword of the loom, and is articulated to the end of a lever which is oscillatable in such a manner that the articulation point between the lever and th stay remains in line with the rotary axle of the slay, the lever being connected to an eccentric that produces in two cycles the oscillation of the lever and in consequence the displacement of the shuttle box and its return to initial position.

25 6. Automatic shuttle change mechanism for looms, according to claim 1, comprising the ar- 6 rangement of the shaft of the loom, of a plate provided with two toothed sectors that can slide axially on the said shaft, said plate having a rim of eccentric profile cooperable with a pin that is displaced by the action of the weft exhaustion indicating means, the said pin producing the axial displacement of the plate, said sectors engaging intermittently with a pinion forming part of the eccentric that drives a lever, producing a double oscillation and returning the plate to its initial position by means of a spring, when the action of the pin ceases.

FEDERICO LLO'VERA.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 600,490 Crompton Mar. 8, 1898 908,362 Wachtler Dec. 29, 1908 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 843,032 France Mar, 20, 1939 

